Chapter 523 Shanxi Pilot

In the Prince's Mansion in Nanjing, Chen Ming had already left, but there were still a group of people in the hall frowning at the booklet in their hands.

Wang Huizu and Zhao Yi looked at each other inadvertently. There was no need to say anything more. At this moment, they were in sync. This must be a move that the prince had been holding back for who knows how long. He did not discuss it with outsiders at all. It was completely his own decision.

"Fortunately, the prince also allowed a pilot." Pang Zhenkun, who had just been recalled from the post of governor of Guangxi, did not know what to say. Chen Ming's sudden move made his head swell. Fortunately, there is a pilot. If this is implemented throughout Shanxi now, it will be really fatal.

Chen Ming wants to vigorously develop the coal mines in Pingyang Prefecture, that is, Linfen. It is expected that within three years, the people of Pingyang Prefecture will change from burning firewood to burning coal, because he wants to close the mountains for afforestation and plant trees. At the same time, the local people are required to reduce the number of goat breeding, on the grounds that goats eat grass roots, and strongly encourage pen breeding + silage. At the same time, vigorously build silt dams!

Pang Zhenkun was almost dizzy. Because sheep eat grass roots, people have to raise fewer sheep, or they have to be raised in pens, and they have to spend money or labor to complete silage. Does this make sense? This seemingly light-hearted sentence actually requires local people to change their living habits. How can it be so easy? And what the hell is "soil erosion", what is this? It is actually related to the Yellow River turning yellow, the Yellow River carrying silt, the siltation of the riverbed, the frequent flooding of the Yellow River, and a series of other problems of the Yellow River. Is it true?

Although at first glance, Pang Zhenkun still thought that what Chen Ming said was very reliable. He had been the governor of Guangxi before. Guangxi has a complex terrain, mainly mountainous, with high surroundings and low in the middle, slightly forming a basin. There is abundant rainfall and rich vegetation, but in the northwest of Guangxi, it is mostly a lava area with high mountains, steep slopes, and thin soil. According to the statement in this booklet, soil erosion is also very serious. Pang Zhenkun was also familiar with the mud washed away by the water, which accumulated in the river channel and raised the riverbed. Locals said that thin soil could not hold soil, and now looking at the statement in the booklet, it was very convincing. It's just that the northwest of Guangxi is not like the central plains of Henan and Anhui, so even if the river floods, the impact is minimal. It is very likely to be true, but can you explain this to the people of Pingyang Prefecture?

It's so easy to chop firewood in the mountains, and it doesn't cost money to burn coal? How easy is it to release sheep in the mountains? Silage is free? The people in the city are better, and the people in the countryside are willing to listen.

Finally, the silt dam? What the hell is this? How come Pang Zhenkun didn't know about the topic raised by Chen Ming today?

But in Chen Ming's eyes, the Shanxi governance plan he made was very reliable. This silt dam is definitely a good way to deal with soil erosion on the Loess Plateau. In the ditches of all levels in the soil erosion area, the dam construction for the purpose of blocking mud and silting is called a silt dam.

The loess plateau area in Shanxi and Shaanxi has a deep soil layer and widespread loess. It has the characteristics of uniform texture, loose structure, strong permeability, easy collapse, and fast dehydration and consolidation. It is a good dam material and can be made locally. This kind of water conservancy construction with low continuous content is of great significance for raising the erosion base level of the ditch, preventing soil erosion, retaining floods, blocking mud, silting, reducing the entry of mud and sand into the Yellow River, and improving local production and living conditions.

More importantly, the investment is small and the effect is fast, the dam land is used for a long time, and the efficiency is high.

Chen Ming, who has the memory of later generations as a "basis", has a high evaluation of the silt dam, but it's a pity that he is a bit empty talk. Because these three words, no matter whether it is Wang Huizu, Xiong Bingzhang, Zhao Yi, or a genius like Pang Zhenkun, have never heard of them. Chen Ming still remembers that there was a precedent for silt dams in history, but he can't remember it. I only vaguely remember that it first attracted the attention of the Manchu government in the Ming Dynasty and then in the Qing Dynasty, but it ultimately failed to develop effectively.

In addition to this silt dam, Chen Ming has six more words in his mind: source protection, slope protection, and ditch consolidation. I remember learning the three major principles of comprehensive management of small watersheds in geography class in middle school. What about planting protective forests on the top of the mountain, planting grasslands on both sides, building terraces under the grasslands, and then irrigating grass slope protection and forest land.

Chen Ming plans to experiment with these things one by one in Shanxi, using Pingyang Prefecture as a pilot project. As long as the effect is seen, it can be promoted. The Loess Plateau is located to the west of Taihang Mountain, to the east of Wushaoling, to the north of Qinling Mountain, and to the south of the Great Wall. It spans Shanxi, Shaanxi, Gansu, Inner Mongolia and other provinces. The territory is not just Shanxi.

If it really comes to a last resort, Chen Ming still has one last trick - migration. Move the people from the Loess Plateau step by step to the Northeast, Xinjiang and Southeast Asia. Reducing the local population and population base will naturally greatly reduce the pressure on the land and natural environment.

The soil erosion of the Loess Plateau south of the Great Wall and the desertification of the major deserts north of the Great Wall are two difficult problems like two swords hanging very high above Chen Ming's head. No matter what, they can't pierce Chen Ming's head, but Chen Ming is unwilling to sit back and watch these two swords get closer and closer without doing anything.

Two days later, the front page of the "Zhongyuan Daily" published the first report centered on vegetation, land desertification and soil erosion. The article cited the example of Xinjiang and the example of the Ulan Buh Desert. Many places that were lush with water and grass and cattle and sheep in the Qin and Han dynasties have become a vast sea of ​​sand with no people after thousands of years of circulation.

The article describes the importance of vegetation, the harm of land desertification and land sandification, land reclamation, over-cultivation, over-grazing...

On this day, many middle and lower-level officials in Nanjing City were holding newspapers and discussing. They were not discussing whether there was a real relationship between vegetation and soil erosion, nor were they discussing how to control soil erosion. The topic they discussed was - what is the top going to do?

Just like many officials in the Rabbit Country in the past read the "People's Daily", insisted on reading the "Provincial Newspaper" and "City Newspaper" every day, and read the news, many officials in Chen Han now also read the "Zhongyuan Daily" every day.

Because they can see all kinds of potential policies from the commentary articles in the newspaper, and see some existence that can guide their own direction. Some policies and personnel changes of the Fu Han Army, when the overall situation has been determined but not publicly announced, can always reflect some clues in the "Zhongyuan Daily".

For example, the PK battle between the Shuntian Prefecture Yin of Nanjing.

For two consecutive days, the words "Shanghai's economic development prospects are bright" appeared on the front page of the newspaper. Anyone with a discerning eye knew that the battle ended with Yue Wenhai's victory. The reason why the superiors decided on Yue Wenhai was to open the port.

But then the newspapers mentioned Shanghai's special regional location one after another, and soon, the level of Shanghai was raised by half a level. Xiao Lou, who lost in the battle for the position of Nanjing Shuntian Prefecture, became the top leader of the new Shanghai.

"What does the superior mean?" Soil erosion, vegetation, the prince is not really a god, and a command can turn a thousand miles of sand sea into fertile grassland farmland.

"Does the court want everyone in the world to protect vegetation and prevent soil erosion?"

There are all kinds of speculations, including the speculation that the court will set up a "sand control official", which many people agree with.

Then the "Zhongyuan Daily" released another headline, the argument revolving around why the Yellow River is so yellow!

Don't say, the sensation caused by this article is much greater than the sensation caused by the previous article on soil erosion. China has had the saying "peaceful seas and clear rivers" since ancient times, and there is also the simple idea of ​​"the Yellow River is clear, a sage will emerge. When a sage emerges, the world will be governed." But isn't this idea the best foil for the turbidity of the Yellow River?

On this topic that is shrouded in a layer of mythology, the "Zhongyuan Daily" suddenly made a big revelation, blaming the turbidity of the Yellow River on the soil erosion of the Loess Plateau. The shocking power of this moment is still very strong.

This shocking power and its continuation, the harm of soil erosion on the Loess Plateau, the turbidity of the Yellow River - the silt accumulation at the bottom of the riverbed, and finally becoming a suspended river on the ground, frequent floods and waterlogging disasters are the most serious consequences. From Luoyang below, the entire Henan and Anhui, how many times have they flooded in the past three or four hundred years of the Ming and Qing Dynasties? How many times have they burst? How many deaths and property losses have they caused?

No one in the whole of China can take this topic lightly, especially the people along the Yellow River. The description of the surface of the Loess Plateau in the article - thousands of gullies and ravines, fragmented and broken, has almost become a synonym for the Loess Plateau.

"The phenomenon of 'soil erosion' that Your Highness mentioned is also very common in the Kingdom of Great Britain. In North Wales, for example, most of the ancient forests have long since disappeared, although some areas were still densely covered with trees in the early 18th century. And in Scotland, less than a hundred years ago, there were so many trees that the whole of Britain knew that everyone there used the 'best wood' to make fires every day, but now it is a region with more trees than Wales or England. Whether it is around the city or in the remote countryside, there are no forests at all. If you want to enclose land, you must import trees for making hedges from England and the Netherlands. The Wood of Thredbo is the most famous forest in Great Britain. Because of enclosure, it has almost been razed to parks and farmland. Baekeland and Bilhe are two forests belonging to the royal family. It is said that there are 10,000 mature oak trees in them. But as far as I know, much of the oak in the Victory sailing ship came from overseas, not from the local area." Newton did not say anything about soil erosion. He just briefly outlined some of the conditions in the UK. When the power of capital surged, no attempt was made to preserve the forest. If there are no forests, will there be less soil erosion?

The sheep-eating movement that started in the UK can also be represented by the enclosure movement. Isn't it a manifestation of the power of capital? Pieces of forests were flattened, big trees were pushed down, and large tracts of open space became pastures for grazing. It would be strange if there was no soil erosion.

It's just that the UK is an island country, and the rainfall is much greater than that of China's northwest inland. So the harm is much smaller in reality.

While Chen Ming wanted to close the mountains and cultivate forests in Shanxi and Shaanxi, he really couldn't bear to give up the large coal fields on the Loess Plateau.

Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Inner Mongolia, the coal resources there are too rich.

However, what are the consequences of large-scale coal mining? Chen Ming is very clear about the huge force of danger. He also really understands that in many cases, the "heart" of capital pursuing profits really dares to treat the repeated orders of the court as a fart.

These words of Newton may contain a warning, never underestimate the power of capital. Although the national conditions of China and the United Kingdom are completely different, if Chen Ming really thinks that he can make millions of capitals obey him with just one word, he will be in trouble.

This phenomenon continued until Nanjing officially ordered a series of pilot projects to be carried out in Pingyang Prefecture, Shanxi. Although the measures of not allowing free-range sheep to be raised in pens and not allowing firewood to be burned but coal to be burned were too weird in the eyes of many people, the overall opposition was not strong. Chen Ming did not need to show his strength specifically, and the matter continued like this. It also gave the whole of China a new topic to discuss in October after September.

…

"Second brother, what do you say to us is a production team?"

In Jizhou, the westernmost part of Pingyang Prefecture, in a small village on the edge of Gaotian Mountain, the township official Ge Erzhi pointed at a few naughty children and drove them away, saying loudly: "I came here today to tell you what a production team is."

Jizhou is known as the Little Huizhou in Pingyang, because the area of ​​agricultural arable land here is too small. It is estimated that there are more than 200,000 acres of land. Until now, the county's land surveying team has not yet completed the survey, and some places are too difficult to find. The palm-sized area that Chen Ming saw on TV in later generations where two corns were planted is a true portrayal of many places in Jizhou, but the population here has reached 130,000 or 140,000.

This place is located on the east bank of the middle reaches of the Yellow River, at the southern end of the Luliang Mountains in Shanxi. It is bounded by Shitou Mountain, Jingangling, and Guye Mountain in the east, bordering Pu County and Linfen; it is bounded by the Yellow River in the west, and faces Yichuan County in Shaanxi across the river; it is bounded by Xiazhangjian in the south, and connected to Changning Town in Xiangning County; it is bounded by Chuhegou in the north, and borders Daning County. It has long been known as "Qinjin Tongheng".

If you still can't form a concept, you should know about Hukou Waterfall, right? Hukou Waterfall is in this place!

What should Jizhou do with its small land? The local people can only go to do business. It is similar to the original motivation of Huizhou merchants, but it is far less than what Huizhou merchants did. This place is right on the lifeline of transportation between Shanxi and Shaanxi, and there are still many conveniences.

"Our Pingyang Prefecture will be different from now on. The court has issued a new order that in the next few years, we should cut less firewood and burn coal briquettes. Ah, you all should pay attention to this, burn coal briquettes. When I come down to walk around in the future, if anyone lets me see Dazhizi cutting trees again, I will put you in the detention center." Ge Er certainly knew that what he said was somewhat different from the "facts", but you can't talk to the illiterate common people with flowery nonsense. It's just a bunch of nonsense.

You have to scare them, and the detention center is Ge Er's biggest magic weapon. Anyway, his reputation in this village has long been "ruined". He is ruthless and impartial, this is the village where his brother-in-law lives. "From now on, you are only allowed to pick up fallen dead leaves and branches, and you are not allowed to cut down trees. Did you hear me? Don't I know where there are trees in and outside the village? I will go to the woods from time to time. If I see any marks, the village will have to hand me over. Don't say I am ruthless then.

This is all for your good. This is to preserve the water and soil. Do you know what soil erosion is? I just told you a few days ago, you won't be so forgetful, right?

This tree can't be cut down anymore. We will plant trees next year. Every household will plant trees for me, and we will also plant trees on the mountain. The higher-ups will give you saplings, and you won't let your work be in vain. Otherwise, sooner or later there will be no grass in our place, and it will all become a desert, all sand."

"Where can we get the money to buy coal balls?" The people below were all excited. Honeycomb coal had long been known in Shanxi. The coal resources in this place were too rich, and the development of honeycomb coal was amazing. But no matter how cheap it was, it still cost money.

"Why don't you have money to buy coal briquettes? Production team, see, production team." Ge Er hit the gong hard and spoke loudly, spitting out of his mouth.

"Do you know what a production team is? The production team lets you form your own team and go to the construction site to make money."

"What we lack in Pingyang in recent years is labor. You guys are idle like gods all day long. Once you finish the farm work in the fields, you all plan to hibernate, right?"

"I tell you, don't think you will be so comfortable this winter."

"Coal mines need people, and building silt dams also need people. As long as you work hard, you can make money. This silt dam is to build a dam at the sewer outlet to hold back the soil. It will soon become a fertile field. After the land is silted, you can grow crops and trees." In fact, there is a silage pond, but this place is too poor. There are only two families raising sheep in the village. The largest landlord has only eleven acres of land.

In the north of the village, in front of a cave, Ge Dani was looking up, holding a winnowing basket with yellow millet on it. In the yard, a donkey was pulling a stone millstone, and a well-dressed man was looking at the millstone.

"It's almost dark, what's wrong with Erdan? Why hasn't he come back yet?"

"Why are you worried about this? He's so old, how can he get lost? Hurry up and cook."

At lunch, his brother-in-law gave him a good talk about the "production team". Liang Darong understood the meaning, but he was just unsure. If this production team is set up by itself, what can we do if we can't control the people...

The people's sentiments in Pingyang Prefecture, Shanxi, before Chen Ming knew it, the local officials and township officials had already turned the rural production team into a contractor...